Darkness in Paradise
by 67OtakuGirl24X3
Summary: WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR TALE OF THE BRONZE TRIO. Konata and Shiro Ueda decided to take their family of 6 kids, most of whom are grown, on a vacation to an exclusive island. It seems like a setting from a dream... At first.
1. Chapter 1

It was a humid day in the last week of June. Parents and their younger children stood at Platform 9 ¾ as they awaited the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. You could just FEEL the anxiety in the air. The nervous while at the same time excited atmosphere increased tenfold when a gigantic red train pulled into the station with a _screech_. All was still for a moment, and then the doors were opened. Eccentric children aged 11 to 17 poured out of the train, chatting ecstatically and pushing carts loaded with an odd assortment of items.

An 11 year old girl (her birthday was rather early in the school year- December 6- plus she was beyond responsible, so she was permitted to start her term at Hogwarts even though she had been 10 in September) by the name of Alexandra Ueda struggled to remove her cart from the train. When she'd finally succeeded in shoving it through, a small golden crate went flying off the top. "No, Butterscotch!" she gasped. A freckled fifth year boy spun away from his own cart and grabbed the crate, which contained a brown and white Dutch rabbit. Alexandra sighed in relief, gratefully allowing him to situate the crate back on her cart.

"There you go, runt."

"Thanks, Jonah, it means a lot…"

The boy- Jonah- ruffled the top of Alexandra's waist length, dark brown hair and winked. "Not a problem." Without another word, he retrieved his own cart and vanished into the crowd. Alexandra stared after him for a few moments, her cheeks a light shade of pink.

"Alex, what are you doing? We gotta go find Mum and Dad," a male voice called. Alex closed her teal eyes tightly to snap herself out of her trance and smiled sheepishly over her shoulder. Her 15 year old brother had just wrestled his way off the train, his unruly dark brown hair even more askew than usual.

"Sorry Kiseki, zoned out for a sec… Where's Kathy? Shouldn't we be waiting for her?" Katherine was one of their two older sisters, and, being 17, had just completed her final year at Hogwarts. Like their father had been, Kathy was a Ravenclaw. She had wavy, light brown hair that went down to halfway down her neck, and always wore dark purple glasses.

Kiseki shook his head, removing his orange tabby from her crate and draping her over his shoulder. He rolled his emerald green eyes. "Nah, she told me to go ahead. She's waiting for Radha and that darned James Sirius." Radha was the daughter of Padma Patil, and a Ravenclaw. She'd been Kathy's best friend since year 1. James Sirius was the oldest son of Harry Potter, as you probably know, and a Gryffindor. Both of them were in the same year as Kathy. "I don't see why she's dating that troublemaker… Kathy's such a good girl! Not to mention James made fun of her all the time when they were younger."

Alex shrugged. "Every girl has a weakness for bad boys." Kiseki gave a small groan, heading off to find their parents.

"Ah, there's my little Ravenclaw!" called a man's voice. Alex spun around, suddenly grinning from ear to ear. "Daddy!" she shrieked, abandoning her cart to dash into her father's arms. Shiro Ueda, a 40 year old man, was decently tall- 6'3- and though no body builder in the least, he was pretty muscular. His hair was the same dark shade of brown as Kiseki and Alex's, and he kept his beard shaved extremely short so that it looked much more like 5 o'clock shadow. From a distance, he was a bit intimidating, but one look into his bright blue eyes would tell anyone his true nature.

"And there's Mummy's favorite little Slytherin," crooned a woman, leaning over to give Kiseki a peck on the cheek.

"Mum, don't!" Kiseki moaned, blushing.

Konata Ueda chuckled and ruffled Kiseki'a hair. Konata was 40, like her husband, though 2 months younger than him. Her hair was straight, light brown, and worn in a variety of styles. Today, however, she had it thrown into a low ponytail that trailed about halfway down her back; despite her age, there were about 3 miniscule strands of gray amongst the brown. Kiseki and Kathy had both inherited her lovely emerald green eyes. She was a good 7 inches shorter than her husband, and about 10 pounds away from being underweight. All in all, though, she was quite pretty.

"Did you blow all those professors' minds, Allie?" asked a voice Alex hadn't heard since Christmas break.

"Aussie! Oh my gosh!" Alex squealed. Austin was 20 years old, so he'd already graduated Hogwarts; he was the only Hufflepuff in their family besides Konata. He had the same teal eyes as Alex, with very short hair the same color as his mother's. He had his bangs cut so that there was nothing on the right side, but his left eye was completely covered by hair. The smile he'd inherited from his dad could compete with Gilderoy Lockhart's, and he flashed that heartwarming grin at Alex. She wrapped her skinny arms around his waist without hesitation.

"What are you DOING here? When did you get so tan? Oh, goodness, it's FANTASTIC to see you!" she squeaked.

Austin patted the back of her head, laughing. "Great to see you too baby sister. First question: we'll explain that later. And second: my job as a magical creature photographer has been taking me to tropical places lately, and the weather is bloody BRILLIANT there. A vampire would probably turn tan after staying there for a couple days."

Alex nodded, her eyes glistening. She'd always been extraordinarily close to all her siblings, but if she was held at gunpoint to pick a favorite, it would definitely be Austin.

"Oh, wow, Aussie! I didn't know you'd be here!" called a girl's voice. Kathy quickly gave James a kiss and Radha a hug before trotting over to her brother.

Shiro smiled affectionately as Kathy, Austin, Alex, and Kiseki started catching up with each other. He suddenly felt two strong arms wrap around him from behind and heard a masculine voice whisper, "It's been a while, old man," in his ear. Shiro's smile returned quickly as he turned around to face his oldest son.

Raito Ueda, who was 23 years old (yes, his parents had been quite young when he was born), looked an awful lot like his father. The differences were so little they could be counted on one hand: Raito was 5 inches shorter than his dad; he shaved his facial hair clear off every morning; he had his mother's nose and smile; there was a thin, pink scar from an accident nearly 10 years ago permanently etched on Raito's right cheek. That scar wasn't alone: his other forever-remaining scars included a big gash on his chest and on his left bicep. He had many other little ones, too.

"So, how have you liked your first year of being the full-fledged Care of Magical Teachers professor instead of just my student-teacher?" Shiro exclaimed.

Raito's face lit up. "I've LOVED it! The older kids were upset you'd retired for a while, but they'd grown accustomed to me. I'm immodest enough to say I think they ENJOYED me teaching them."

Shiro nodded, beaming with pride. "Good, good. That's my boy. What about the new Muggle Studies teacher? How's she?"

Raito gave a small shrug. "She's okay, as far as old bats like her go. She knows her Muggle stuff, yeah, but I doubt she's actually experienced it hands on like Mum has. I've heard people saying Mum is the best Muggle Studies professor the school's ever had."

Konata's cheeks turned a light pink color; she smiled both in shock and pleasure. "Did they now? Oh, that's so sweet of them! Give my old students and coworkers my thanks when school starts up again." Though she was a pureblood, Konata had been raised by Muggles since she was a baby. She wasn't aware her parents were 100% witch and wizard until her fifth year at Hogwarts. Shiro's father was a pureblood, but his mother was a Squib.

Alex looked around at her family as if she was doing a head count. "Where's Raye?" she questioned. "Is she back from her term at medical school?" Raye, the last of the Ueda kids, was Raito's twin sister and only 7 minutes younger than him. She had been the assistant nurse at Hogwarts from the time she 19 until she got married at 21. She returned to Hogwarts for a short amount of time while she was 22, but then decided to go to medical school so she could be a doctor in the wizarding world. Shiro had been a doctor (as well as a veterinarian) in the Muggle world for 10 years, starting from when he was 21.

"She's at Malfoy Manor with her hubby. Probably makin' babies as we speak," Raito mocked, amusement evident in his tone.

"Oh, she better not be doing that. Don't get me wrong, I like Scorpius, but I don't like the idea of ANYBODY laying their hands on my daughter," Shiro sighed.

"Quit filling Allie's head with PG-13 images, men!" Konata scolded, clamping her hands over Alex's ears. The Uedas all laughed and started heading back to parking lot.

"We're home," Shiro declared a while later. They had all piled into a seemingly normal minivan, drove into an alley away from Muggles, and Shiro pressed the button on the dashboard that magically teleported them all the way to their home in Japan. You see, Shiro's father was Japanese, though his mother was British; Konata's biological parents were solely British. Though Konata and Shiro had lived in England for the first 31 years of their lives, they'd decided it would be a treat to move to Japan once they got their jobs at Hogwarts. Now that he wasn't a professor, Shiro was currently working on finding work as a doctor or vet in Japan.

"Ah, it's good to be home," Alex sighed once she'd unpacked her things. She fell back onto her too-cushiony bed after slipping a carrot into Butterscotch's cage. She didn't often see this room- when her parents had been professors at Hogwarts, which was for almost as long as she could remember, she'd slept and ate in a cabin outside the Forbidden Forest and spent her days in her parents' classrooms. The only time she'd come to this home was during summer break, and occasionally for the winter and spring holidays.

"Ms. Alexandra! Your family be wanting you, they is!" a high pitched voice called from the doorway. Alex sat up, smiling deeper at the sight of the tiny house elf who'd been with her family for nearly 20 years. Still, she was the size of a human toddler. Nevertheless, she was rather wizened when it came to house elf standards.

Though most house elves wore things like rags or sacks, Tippy wore a simple but cleanly green dress made for a doll, a pink headband with a sparkly bow on it, and two pure white socks with purple polka dots. Raye had given Tippy the dress many years ago, not liking the idea of her family owning a cute, innocent little SLAVE. Tippy, however, had grown attached to the Uedas, and liked to do their chores, so she stayed with them. However, so they didn't have to spend any more money than what she felt necessary, she'd find meals on her own.

Alex slid off her bed, scooping up the adorably ugly elf. Cradling her in her arms, she trotted down the long flight of stairs to their dining room. Placing Tippy on the floor and giving her a pat on the head, she trotted into the living room. Raito sat in an odd sideways position in the cream colored armchair in the corner; Austin sat in the identical one to the right; Kiseki sat with Kathy on the forest-green sofa facing the TV in the middle of the room; Konata and Shiro were standing in the doorway of what used to be a playroom, but was now a guest bedroom. Upon Alex's arrival, Kathy motioned for her to sit on the couch.

"When Raye gets here, we'll tell you our news," Konata told them, leaning into Shiro a bit.

Raito shot them a skeptical look. "If you're pregnant again, I swear I'll-"

"Don't worry, your mother isn't pregnant. We're done with that chapter," Shiro assured him quickly. It was silent except for the television for a couple minutes. Alex detected movement outside with her peripheral vision, and jogged over to the window to investigate. She was greeted by what would be a very strange sight to most people, but in the wizarding world, was as normal as seeing someone walk their dog down a sidewalk.

Skimming above the trees and diving progressively closer to the ground was a pair of two people: a pale blonde man and a brown haired woman. From a distance, they appeared to be riding an incredibly thin, invisible horse through thin air, but as they got nearer it was evident they were perched on a broomstick. The boy sat high up on the handle, gripping the stick firmly; the girl sat closer to the bristles and had her arms wrapped tightly around the boys' waist, the side of her face pressed against his back. The boy wore an expression as if he was the king of the world sitting on his throne, and the girl had her eyes closed in a thrilled type of peace.

The boy brought the broom to a perfect soft landing on the Ueda's front deck, and the girl immediately dismounted. She put her hands atop the boy's, staring into his eyes. They kissed for a good 5 seconds until the girl reluctantly backed toward the door, giving him space to exit. She waved him off, and he blew her a kiss before flying away into the sky. The girl waited for him to be long gone, and then proceeded to the front door. Alex shot to her feet, flinging the large oak doors open before the girl's fist could even make contact.

The older girl smiled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Hi Allie, it's so great to see you!" If you took Raito and made him 1 inch shorter, about 3 times skinnier and less muscular, removed all his scars, gave him female features, and lengthened his hair by about a foot, you'd have Raye. The sides of her hair perfectly framed her face down to the tip of the chin, while the back descended straight along her back. She was rather attractive, though there was still some evidence she'd previously been on the edge of anorexia.

Smiling brightly, she waved at all her family. "Hey everyone! Wow, I haven't seen you guys since Christmas…"

Konata and Shiro strode over and gave Raye tight hugs- Konata's was preceded by a kiss on both cheeks. "Oh, sweetheart, I've missed you! I'm sorry we asked you to come here when you've just got back to Scorpius, but…"

Raye shook her head, staring cheerfully into her mom's eyes. "Don't apologize, Mum! I missed you guys a lot, all of you! Besides, Scorpy's fine with this. You're my family too, and he can have me for a pretty big duration of the summer."

Konata nodded with an appreciative smile and stood to face the rest of their children as Alex went back to sit on the couch. Raito motioned for Raye to approach him, grinning broadly. Raye did so hesitantly; Raito grabbed her by the waist and pulled her onto his lap. The more she struggled, the tighter he hugged her and the louder he yelled "MY SISSY! I LOVE YOU!" Alex laughed: Raito had done the same thing to her and Kathy when they'd gotten home.

"So, we COULD give a long introduction on how we love all you kids, and we're so proud of each and every one of you, and we miss seeing you all every day-"

"Technically you never saw ALL of us EVERY day: Raye and I had already started Hogwarts by the time you guys had Alex," pointed out Raito. Raye had given up on fighting him and was now sitting awkwardly on his lap.

"See why we don't give these long introductions? We'll just get right to the point." Shiro grinned at his wife, who returned his expression. They simultaneously declared, "We're going on vacation!"

The kids all stared at them blankly, as if they were speaking a foreign language. Konata chuckled and slid her wand out from behind her ear. She tapped it against a flyer which Shiro had removed from his back pocket, and it instantly multiplied. One landed in the hands of each of her kids; their jaws dropped.

"We're going HERE!" gasped Austin, who was the only one who could find his voice. The flyer displayed private beaches with dazzling white sand, and an ocean with crystal blue water; a gigantic waterfall with water an equally gorgeous color as the ocean, with numerous mini waterfalls dotting the cliffs around it; miles and miles of luscious forests, completely untouched by humans, abundant with colorful and mysterious plants and animals; a hiking trail that led up to a dormant volcano, and a considerably large village consisting of about 50 unique houses, a few shops, and what could only be taken as a wooden dance floor.

"Yes, yes we are," Shiro confirmed with a rather proud tone in his voice. "A little more description on what 'here' is: this is an island located… somewhere in the ocean, I'm not supposed to tell where- and it's very difficult to gain access to it. Ridiculously expensive, and more heavily guarded than… Well, it's very heavily guarded. They want to preserve it, you see. It took years and years of arguing just for the people who decided to live there to get permission to build that village. About half the people that come are crazy rich tourists, a fourth of the people live there, and another fourth… I'm not sure who they are, actually. The point is, it's close to IMPOSSIBLE to come to this oasis."

"How did you afford this?" Kathy wondered aloud, her glasses sliding down her nose as she stared wide-eyed at the flyer.

"You kids know how I was almost an Auror?" The kids all nodded, still in a daze. Shiro smiled almost mischievously. "Well, the family who owns this island… The father is heavily involved with the Ministry of Magic. He's the one who pressed that I be an Auror. The man LOVES me. He offered me a vacation at 85% off the normal price."

"That's unbelievable…" Raye whispered.

"Well believe it, chickie," Shiro exclaimed.

Konata clasped her hands together. "Okay, so. We- that meaning the 8 of us- are going to be leaving on the tenth of July, so there should be PLENTY of time for you guys to pack and prepare and get in spending time with your friends. We'll head home on the twentieth."

"So we'll be there for Dad's birthday?" Kiseki remarked quietly. Shiro's birthday was July fifteenth.

"Correct. Because you brought that up, you get first dibs on your room at the… hotel? House? I'm not quite sure what we're getting," Shiro indicated.

"Hey, question: do they allow pets there?" Austin asked, thinking about his toad, Hops, and his owl, Eclipse, back at his home.

"They ENCOURAGE it! Just please, please, PLEASE do not LOSE your pet," Konata responded. Her eyes drifted over to Raito, who'd misplaced his rat, Chester, more times than he could count. Konata's smile softened as she turned her gaze to Tippy, who was listening from a crack in the dining room door. "They also allow house elves."

Tippy's round hazel-and-green-flecked eyes widened and immediately started watering. "O-oh! _Oh! _Kind Ms. Konata… She… She is wanting Tippy to come along? O-oh, no, Tippy cannot! Tippy is not important enough!"

Konata kneeled down, rubbing Tippy's floppy, bat-like ears. "Don't be so humble. You're part of the family, Tippy!" The house elf burst into tears of joy, slipping in "thank you"s during gasps for breath.

Alex looked around the room. She looked at her oldest twin siblings, who were still sitting ineptly in the armchair; Kiseki to her left, who had changed so drastically in the past couple years; Kathy to her right, who had graduated Hogwarts and would be starting her life as a grown-up; Austin, who was already an adult with a job and a plan for his life (which involved marrying Radha, though he hadn't told many people that) but still had a youthful heart; her parents, who had somehow managed to successfully raise 6 children, while remaining happily married for 23 years without ever seriously considering divorce; and the little house elf, sobbing her big eyes out in utter delight.

Alexandra smiled, a very warm feeling spiraling up inside her chest. Her family would all be together… They'd be on a dream vacation… They'd all be having the time of their lives… Though she didn't notice it, somewhere deep within her mind, Alex was experiencing a great feeling of dread. Why was this? Because somewhere deep within her mind, she had a very keen sense for the future.


	2. Chapter 2

The days went by in a sort of blur. It was back to just Alex, Kiseki, Kathy, their parents, and Tippy, which wasn't quite as exciting but still provided a never-a-dull-moment life. In all the excitement and preparation, Kiseki had forgotten to take his special pills one day, which caused him to be extra irritable until he took them again. From the time Kiseki was born, he had some unidentified mental illness that made it extremely difficult for him to learn things, control himself, think, and trust people. It had taken 13 years for the doctors to find a general cure for it, and another year for it to actually start working for him. He was much better now, but still a bit jumpy.

A few days after summer break had begun, Kathy brought up something that took everyone's minds off the upcoming vacation for a moment. They were at the dinner table, silently planning out what they'd do at the island, when Kathy cleared her throat and put down her silverware. "Mum, Dad… I have to tell you guys something…"

Shiro immediately went pale. "Katherine, I know your mother and I had Raito and Raye when we were your age, but we're no example-"

Kathy's face flushed. "Oh my GOSH Daddy, I'm not pregnant! In fact, I'm a vi-" She glanced at Alex and suddenly decided she had nothing more to say on that topic. "I have to tell you guys that…" She took a deep breath. "That James wants me to buy a house with him."

Shiro, who had inconveniently been drinking iced tea at that moment, spit his beverage out all over the table. "He WHAT! Oh, Kathy, honey…! James is a nice boy, I'm friends with his father, and I like him, I really do, but…" Shiro laughed nervously. "Move in with him? Sweetheart, he's your first boyfriend, isn't this being a little rash?"

"Rash? Daddy, you and Mum were already expecting a child when you two had been dating for only three years, which really isn't much longer than James and I have been together…" Kathy murmured.

That certainly got to Shiro. He glanced away and thought it a good time to take a long sip of his drink. Kathy looked guilty to have touched that subject, and assured them quickly, "It won't be anything soon, probably not for a year or two. And only if it's alright with you guys…"

Konata smiled softly at her. "Well I'm fine with it. You're a very smart girl, and I know you wouldn't do this if you weren't positive it's what you wanted."

Kathy gave a sheepish smile and turned to Shiro, who was still draining his glass. He paused a moment, and then sighed. "Yeah, okay. You have my permission."

Kathy's face lit up. "Thanks Mum, thanks Dad! I'll go send James an owl…" She gave Shiro a peck on the cheek before running out of the room.

"Well Alexandra, you're my last hope. You can't get married until you're at least 24, and no boys at all until you're 13," Shiro declared, rubbing his forehead.

"Too late for that. Alex has a crush on a fifth year," Kiseki told him plainly.

If Shiro still had anything in his glass, he surely would have taken another spit take. "FIFTH YEAR! Merlin, Alex, no! Boys are icky. Icky! They have cooties. ESPECIALLY boys that are older than you!"

Alex's face was almost _glowing_ red. "O-oh, Daddy, it's just a little crush! I think he's cute, is all! Nothing more, nothing less!"

"It best be staying that way, or I WILL have to get your mother pregnant again with hopes the baby is female and not interested in romance," Shiro exclaimed.

"Oh? In that case, I guess we'll have to keep an eye on you two during vacation," Kiseki chuckled into his glass. He got up from the table and disappeared out the door before his parents could say anything.

"Raito's rubbing off on him," Konata sighed. Nonetheless, she couldn't hide her amused grin.

Alex pierced Shiro with her puppy dog eyes, batting her eyelashes sweetly. "Don't worry Daddy, I won't have a boyfriend until I'm _14_, just for you."

Shiro gave a half-hearted smile and refilled his glass. "Good. That's my baby girl."

The tenth of July seemed to come all too quickly. At 10 in the morning, the twins and Austin stopped by (they came by broomstick), ready to go. They had used a shrinking spell on all of their luggage so that it was small enough to keep in their pockets. Shiro, Konata, and Kathy did the same to their own suitcases and bags, as well as Alex and Kiseki's. None of them felt comfortable with shrinking their animals, so they instead shrunk just their cages and held their pets (well, Kathy had her raven perched on her shoulder, while Austin and Shiro did the same with their owls). Tippy had decided she truly didn't want to go with them, so she stayed home.

"That man from the Ministry- I should tell you his name is Mr. Gillis- set up a portkey for us. Follow me," Shiro indicated before anyone could ask the nagging question of transportation. He led his family into the forest adjacent to their home, scanning the ground as they went. He halted at the sight of a rusty tin can. "Ah, here we are. _Engorgio._" He kept his wand pointed at the can until it grew to the size of a large horse. "Everybody, when I say 'now,' grab onto part of the can. And I don't mean touch it, I mean _grab onto_ it. Somewhere on the top or bottom would be your best bet. It's fine if you're holding a pet, one hand will do it. Ready?" Once everyone situated themselves at a spot where they could grab on, they nodded at Shiro. "Alright. NOW!" He yelled.

Alex felt as if someone was trying to pull the upper part of her nose off from the inside. All she could see was a mishmash of swirling colors. Her ears were ringing. She felt like she'd vomit any moment… And then it came to an abrupt stop. Her bottom hit the ground, and she could see normally again. Kiseki had fallen onto his back; Kathy landed on her feet but stumbled clumsily; the twins, Austin, and their parents landed gracefully as if they'd done this a million times.

"Well Uedas, we're here," Shiro declared. An invisible force seemed to make the Ueda kids drop their jaws and robbed them of their voices. The place was even more astounding in person. In the distance, you could hear the soothing crashing of the waves against the shore and beautiful exotic birdsongs. The air was filled with the scent of clean sea air, with the addition of tropical plants' aromas. The grass was the most dazzling shade of green, incredibly soft, and was magicked to remain the perfect height while still being naturally healthy. The volcano towered at least 20 miles away, neither ominously nor invitingly; more like peacefully. A couple of tall shore houses stood to their right, and at their left was a big wooden sign that read: WELCOME TO PARADISE.

Alex vaguely noticed the door to one of the houses open, or the man that walked their way with outstretched arms. Kiseki nudged Alex, and they both got to their feet. The man approaching them had messy, light gray hair, and a bushy, unkempt mustache the same color. He wore a white Hawaiian shirt covered in a blue and orange palm tree pattern, cream colored shorts, and white flip-flops. Though his tanned face was very wrinkled, he gave off a young, friendly vibe.

"Shiro, what a joy to see you all made it!" the man exclaimed, giving Shiro a brotherly hug.

"It's fantastic to see you, Mr. Gillis! You're looking well. I can never thank you nearly enough for this, it's truly remarkable!" Shiro responded, patting the man's back.

Mr. Gillis waved his hand. "Oh, it's my pleasure!" He turned his smiling face to the rest of Shiro's family. "Konata, you're as lovely as I remember you. Even more, possibly. You don't look a day over 25," he told Konata, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Pedophile," Raito muttered within a cough. Mr. Gillis didn't hear him, luckily. He turned to look at the kids, and from his expression you'd think they were his own grandchildren.

"What a beautiful family you have here! And from what I've heard, they're all fine young ladies and gentlemen," he praised. He suddenly started rubbing his hands together. "Well, that's enough talk! Let's get the lot of you to your temporary home. Come along!"

The 8 Uedas followed Mr. Gillis past the houses and into the forest. "No need to worry, everything here is more afraid of you than you are of them. Besides, everything in this section is harmless," Mr. Gillis assured them as they walked down a dirt path. It had to have been naturally made, because no man-made path would have been so uneven.

They walked silently except for some occasional outbursts from Mr. Gillis, everyone taking in the sights around them. Alex held Butterscotch closer to her and sped up her pace a bit when she thought she saw two yellow eyes peering at her through a bush. The path eventually started going uphill, until they reached the end of the forest. Blinking in the sudden sunlight, they saw that they had entered the village from the flyer. There were some people, all dressed similarly to Mr. Gillis, out and about either chatting or browsing the shops. Every one of them smiled at the Uedas, and some even waved friendlily.

Mr. Gillis led them past all the houses, which all looked different from one another. The only similarities Alex could find were that some houses had the same structure or size as another. Mr. Gillis stopped in front of a house that could possibly be the most individualistic of them all. Though it was painted a plain white and had a regular gray roof (equipped with solar panels), each of the windows had a different shape and a different colored shutter. For instance, one window was octagonal with green shutters, while the one below it was triangular with blue shutters. There was also a balcony that spanned from one side of the house to the other. Not only that, but this house was twice, maybe three times the size of the other houses. Really, the only things it had in common with other houses were the solar panels and the wooden front porch, which was the same size as the balcony and had an umbrella table on it.

"Are we staying… _here?_" Kathy asked incredulously. This was the first time any of the Ueda children had spoken since their arrival.

"Yes, spectacled female child, this is where the specials guests are housed," Mr. Gillis responded proudly, as if he himself was the guest of honor.

"We're _special_ guests? Gee, thanks Mr. Gillis!" There wasn't an ounce of fakeness in the enthusiasm in Shiro's tone.

Mr. Gillis gripped Shiro's shoulder, his hazel eyes sparkling. "Of course you are! You're like a son to me, Shiro. I want you guys to have the best 10 days EVER here!"

Shiro smiled warmly at him. He turned to his family and said, "Well, let's get on inside. I still keep my word that Kiseki picks his room first."

"There are only 7 bedrooms in there, so not everybody will get their own room, but there's a queen sized but in each of them," Mr. Gillis told them as they piled inside. Shiro started to comment on how he'd want to share a room with Konata anyway, but then he looked around. The room they walked into was GIGANTIC: twice the size of their living room at home, which was significantly large itself. Except for some mismatched armchairs, a very cushiony sofa, a coffee table, and a bookshelf, the room was empty, so sound echoed in there. To the right of the room was a door and stairs; to the left, windows.

"Through that door there is the kitchen, and there's a door to the bathroom in there. Upstairs there's the bedrooms and another even bigger bathroom," Mr. Gillis explained. Shiro nodded, thanked him a few more times, and then had Kiseki lead the way up the stairs. Mr. Gillis stayed outside.

"Choose your sleeping quarters wisely, my son," Shiro murmured to Kiseki in his elderly-man-impression-voice. Kiseki chuckled quietly, observing all of the rooms. Each one was exactly the same in size, and all contained the same bed, side table, dresser, closet, and sliding door leading out to the balcony, all placed in the same spots. The only differences were the colors and patterns of the curtains and bedspreads. Kiseki ended up choosing the room at the very end of the hall, with lime green curtains and dark green blankets.

Everyone chose rooms suiting their tastes and began to unpack. First they made their pets' cages normal size again and finally rid themselves of carrying their animal (Austin made his side table larger so it could support Hops's aquarium, and had Eclipse perch on the rack in the closet). Afterwards, they restored their luggage to its usual mass and began to unpack.

They spent the remainder of the day exploring every nook and cranny of their temporary home, which was even larger from the inside than the out. They unpacked, explored the area, and met neighbors until noon, when they went to eat at a barbeque held by some neighbors. For the entire rest of the day, they all just hung out.

The next morning, Konata made breakfast (the fridge in the kitchen was packed with fresh food), then they all changed into bathing suits and went down to the beach. There, they swam in the gentle waves, made sculptures in the warm white sand, and ran the length of the shore for hours.

It wasn't until the third day that things got strange.

"Good morning sir!" Alex called cheerily, waving her hand high. She had stepped out onto the porch to get some fresh air when one of the neighbors whom she hadn't yet encountered passed by. There was evidently something off about this man. Everyone on this island wore expressions as bright and eccentric as their clothing, but this man looked to be an outcast who'd lost their mind. He wore raggedy, dark clothes, and had a pile of unkempt black hair on his head. One dark eye seemed to be a bit bigger than the other, and his chin was coated in disorderly gray facial hair. He flashed Alex an intimidating, almost evil, look before increasing his pace and disappearing into the forest. Alex's smile faltered, but she decided not to think into it too much and skipped back inside.

"Allie, love, I saw you through the window," Shiro indicated as Alex found a seat at the huge kitchen table. The room was currently empty except for Alex and her dad. For the first time in days, he looked slightly unnerved. "You shouldn't talk to people like that," he continued.

Alex scooted her chair closer to the table, unintentionally avoiding eye contact with her father. "Yeah, I got a weird vibe from him… I kind of just said hi on an impulse, you know, since I've done so to everyone else."

"I know, darling. Just, if you see anyone like him again, find one of us, or Mr. Gillis, or come back inside if you can, straight away," Shiro said in the same slow, even tone he'd been using.

Raito slid into the kitchen, wearing just his red plaid pajama pants with his hair obviously uncombed. "Wait, Dad, Alex saw one of those weird guys?" Shiro nodded, the look on his face clearly stating he wasn't aware Raito'd seen them too. Raito suddenly appeared a degree more awake. He pulled up a chair beside Alexandra and sat on it backwards. "Look, Allie, those creeps are whack. Something's not right about them."

"You've seen some odd people too, Raito?" Shiro asked slowly.

Raito nodded. "Raye and I saw some last night. There were four of them: three guys, one chick. All of them looked like they hadn't bathed in like, 5 days, and had this CRAZY look in their eyes. They ran when they saw us."

"Do you know who they are, Daddy?" Alex questioned quietly.

Shiro gave a small shake to his head. "They must be hermits, or natives. Tell your mum to save me a plate of breakfast… I'll be back shortly." He kissed Alex on the head and briefly patted Raito's bare shoulder before hurrying out the door.

Alex bit her lip, but Raito smiled down at her. "Don't worry your pretty little head, baby sister. Dad's probably just worried the people have rabies or something, or doesn't want creepers like them to scare us into not enjoying our vacation. Everything's chill."

Alex nodded, feebly returning Raito's smile. "Yeah, you're right. It's no big deal." But she knew better.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey Mum? Austin and I wanna do some exploring," Raito indicated the next morning. Konata frowned, using her want to transport the dirty dishes from the table to the sink.

"But, honey, the girls wanted to go to the beach again today."

Shiro ceased rubbing sunscreen on Alex's cheeks and stood up straight. "I have an idea, love. You can take the girls and Kiseki to the beach, while I take Austin and Raito into the forest," he offered.

Konata smiled. "Perfect! Sounds like a plan."

Raito and Austin high-fived, then Raito wrapped his arms tightly around Kiseki from behind. Having not yet taken his pills, Kiseki jumped and stopped breathing for a terrifying 3 seconds. "How about you come with us? Just the Ueda men, bein' dudes out in the jungle."

Kiseki shook his head and groped the counter for his pills and glass of water. "No thanks, I-I'd rather not…"

Raito pouted, releasing him. "Aw, you're such a chick. Oh well, you're still my man." He kissed his little brother on the cheek before grabbing Austin and bolting out the door.

"What in bloody Hell happened to you guys?" Raye inquired with wide eyes that evening. The girls (and Kiseki) had gotten home at about 5:00; 15 minutes later, Austin, Raito, and Shiro were stumbling through the door, panting like dogs and sweating buckets. However, there was an amused sparkle in their eyes.

"Well… We really should've… thought more of… where Mr. Gillis said nothing… would hurt us…" Austin gasped, gripping his side yet beginning to grin broadly.

"Not all jungle… safe… Southern half… Dragons…" Raito wheezed, his eyes twinkling even further.

Konata's face was suddenly alight with alarm. "Dragons! You boys encountered DRAGONS!"

Shiro waved his hand, grabbing three bottles of water and plopping into an armchair. He tossed two of the bottles to his oldest sons, taking a big swig of his own. After catching his breath, he said, "Just one dragon, darling. Not a terribly big one though… We probably could've identified it, Raito and I having experience with Care of Magical Creatures and Austin being a magical creature photographer, but we were running for our lives. Shot a few fireballs our way, it did!"

Raito chugged down about ¾ of his water and grinned dreamily. "It was bloody brilliant."

Konata slightly twitched with anger, storming over to her oldest sons and hugging them close while stroking the backs of their hair as if they were little kids again. "Brilliant! You boys could've been killed!"

Austin smiled at her sweetly. "But we're alive now, aren't we? Isn't that all that matters?"

Konata bit the inside of her cheek, then sighed. "Yes, I suppose… Please don't do anything like that again, alright?"

They both nodded. "Alright." Konata kissed their heads before heading into the kitchen to make dinner.

"Not like we need to anyway. Check this out." Austin removed his digital camera from his jeans pocket, clicked to the most recently taken video, and pressed play: the first 10 seconds clearly displayed the dragon emerging from the bushes.

"Oh my god Aussie, you got it on video!"

Austin grinned triumphantly, clicking his camera off and sliding it safely back in his pocket. "I most certainly did. Watch, it'll be on the WizardTube homepage no more than a week after I upload it." The boys exchanged a special handshake and then ran upstairs. At the same time, Shiro had begun to stop smiling, stood up, and followed after Konata.

"Whatcha making?" he asked, closing the kitchen door behind him.

"Steak and potatoes," Konata responded, giving her wand a flick so that it sprinkled garlic salt over the uncooked meat.

Shiro walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Mm, delish."

Konata sighed, nudging him away so she could open the oven. "Okay, I can tell by your voice that something's up. What is it?" she asked, depositing the steaks.

Shiro also sighed, his demeanor completely serious. He looked around, listening intently to make sure nobody was coming, and used a spell to lock the door. He spoke very softly. "You know those strange people we've spotted every now and then?"

Konata nodded, beginning to chop up carrots. "They really distract from the scenery. I wonder who they are?"

"That's what I'm about to discuss with you, love. I asked Mr. Gillis… He got all alarmed when I described the people, and said he hadn't seen any for years. Said he'd heard rumors, but thought the townspeople were just bored, so when he heard it from me he knew they were true…"

Konata slowed the pace at which she cut the carrots. "So those people flee whenever they're spotted…"

"…because they're not supposed to be here," Shiro finished. He pressed himself as close to Konata as possible, bringing his lips to her ear so that his warm breath tickled against her skin. When they were younger, this would make her blush tenfold. "Mr. Gillis gave me permission to have the younger kids use their wands, because Konata… Those people are ex-Death Eaters."

Konata almost chopped her fingers off at these words.

Throughout dinner that night, Konata and Shiro never spoke except for asking someone to pass something. Their minds were swirling. What were they to do? Was their family in danger? Would they need to be using magic in a defensive way, like Mr. Gillis suggested? Had Alex and Kiseki even thought to bring their wands? Should they leave the island? Their eyes met across the table, and they could tell they'd come to the same conclusion: it'd have to wait until morning.

The next morning, the Uedas awoke to the patter of rain against their roof and windows. Due to the depressing turn of weather, all of them slept in at least an hour longer than was normal for them. When Konata was awake enough to check the weather, she was disappointed to learn it wouldn't let up until at least 6:30 that night.

"Well, it isn't ALL bad. We could always watch TV, or play board games, or read, or just hang out all day," Kathy enthused as Konata set pancakes and sausages onto the table. The others nodded, though they still were feeling rather darkened.

"Actually… I have something we can do," Shiro declared while everyone began to serve themselves. Konata shot him a glance, but didn't say anything. Though nobody else looked his way, Shiro could tell they were listening. "First off… Kiseki, Alexandra. Do you have your wands?"

It was already a bit alarming that he'd used Alex's full name, but asking about their wands over the summer was suspicious in itself. "Yeah… We didn't want to leave them at home, in case we got robbed or something," Alex answered quietly. Kiseki said nothing, washing down his pills with a glass of orange juice.

Shiro hesitated before continuing. "Good… Mr. Gillis, being very big in the Ministry, gave me permission to give YOU permission to use your magic outside of school, just this once. This is because…" He took a deep breath and looked around at all 6 of his children. "Those weird people we've seen… Every one of them is an ex-Death Eater."

The clatter of dropped silverware could be heard from all around the table. Otherwise, it was deadly silent.

"C'mon , old man, what type of sick joke is that…? Voldemort's long gone, there aren't any DE's left…" Raito whispered after a moment.

Shiro sighed morosely. "I only wish I WAS joking, Raito. It's not like I would have arranged this vacation if I'd known it was infested with vermin like them, but they've been well hidden until now, apparently… I mean, as you said: they're all gone, in theory."

It was remarkable how much Raye resembled Shiro when she was utterly serious. "Don't tell me we're going to leave early… If they're to attack soon, we have to stay and fight!"

Shiro smiled grimly. "That's my girl. Well, fortunately for you… Your mother and I talked it over last night, and we ARE going to stay. It's actually sort of convenient that it's raining, because we can spend the day training. Now there's no guarantee we'll need to fight back, but better safe than sorry." Everyone nodded bleakly in unison.

"Breakfast looks delicious Mum, it really does, but I've sort of lost my appetite…" murmured Austin.

"I understand, sweetheart, I have too…" Konata pushed her chair back and got to her feet. "Give me your plate; I'll put it in the fridge…" She ended up putting away 8 plates.

While Shiro talked to Mr. Gillis with a Muggle phone, the others all tried to amuse themselves with things Kathy had suggested earlier, but couldn't quite concentrate. Raye desperately wanted to get in touch with Scorpius, but she figured it'd be cruel to send an owl out in such weather, and the Malfoys didn't have access to Muggle communication. To get her mind off her husband, she played with her ferret, Mink. Raito couldn't be bored, since he'd misplaced Chester and had to look for him; Alex decided to help. Kathy lost herself in a book, and Austin watched TV with Kiseki (there were medium-sized televisions in the closets).

Konata heated up everyone's breakfasts at noon, and their meal still was rather dull and quiet. The only thing that brightened up the moment was when Raito found Chester inside the butter dish. After everyone cleaned up, however, the uneasy vibe was back.

Shiro had slipped out of the kitchen before the others, dragging Raye along with him. "Follow my lead, love," he instructed her. He slid his wand out of his pocket, pointed it at the bookshelf, and called, "_Reducio!" _He strode over, picked up the miniscule bookshelf, and gingerly placed it on the side perimeter of the room. Immediately catching on, Raye did the same to the two armchairs, while Shiro repeated the action with the sofa and coffee table.

When everyone piled into the room, confusion appearing on their faces, Shiro immediately took on the demeanor of a leader. However, he gave off more of an excited vibe. "Children, line up. Konata, come hither," he called; they all did as they were told."Does everyone have their wands?" All his kids nodded and took them out to show him. Shiro began pacing down the line. "Excellent. This morning I had a long talk with Mr. Gillis about what advances I should take to make sure my family is safe. You've all had plenty experience in DADA class- Alex, I'm sure what they've taught you thus far can turn to be very useful- but there's one spell Mr. Gillis has asked I have you master, or at least grasp the feeling of: _Expecto Patronum."_

"But, Dad, that's for highly advanced wizards! There's no way I could do it…" Kiseki muttered. Shiro approached him and ruffled his hair reassuringly. "That's no view to have on it. Confidence is the key." Shiro stepped back so that he could view all of his children. "Now, even if you already know, I'm going to tell you how to go about performing this spell. Think of a very strong, happy memory, and zone in on it. Not a little happy memory, like getting a high score on your favorite video game, but a BIG one. I usually use Christmas with my family the year before my siblings and parents… passed, or my wedding." Konata kissed his cheek at the last remark, which resulted in Raito making a gagging motion.

"Anyway," Shiro continued, "your patronus will take form of an animal that will serve as a guardian for you."

"Never underestimate your animal, mind," Konata added. "Even if it's small, it can still fully supply its purpose. Observe…" She closed her eyes, her mind swimming with the memory of holding the twins for the first time 23 years ago. Wand outstretched, she shouted, "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" At her command, a line of silvery-blue shot out of the tip of wand and raced around the room. It returned in the form of a hedgehog and stood at ready at Konata's feet. All was silent, until Raito let out an amused snicker. Abruptly, though, a shield of light exploded from the little creature, spanning a radius of at least 5 feet. Raito's snicker immediately changed to a shocked sort of whimper and he shrunk back.

Konata gave her wand a little turn, and the hedgehog vanished instantly.

"Well there you have it. Who would like to go first?" Shiro declared. Everyone looked around as if the ceiling was suddenly very interesting, except for Austin. He gave a small grin and stepped forward boldly. Shiro clapped him on the back, leading him farther away from his siblings. "There's my boy. Alright, you ready?"

Austin nodded sharply. He raised his wand; taking a deep breath, he declared, _"Expecto Patronum!" _Nothing. He closed his eyes, tightening his grip on his wand. "_Expecto Patronum!" _ He took another deep breath. "_Expecto Patronum!" _Austin began to bite his lip, but relaxed himself a bit. He thought even harder about when he became Head Boy, and bellowed, "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!" _

At first, Austin thought he'd have to try a fifth time, but he saw a shiny sliver of light shooting around the room. A silver-blue monkey bolted his way, abruptly halting in midair, staring trustingly into Austin's teal eyes. In his excitement, however, Austin lost focus and his patronus disappeared. Still, his parents clapped, beaming with pride. "Well done my boy, well done! Keep working at it and you'll be unstoppable in no time," Shiro assured him. "Now then… Raito, Raye, how about you two try now?"

The twins immediately stepped forward, shining with determination. Raito thought intensely about being told he'd gotten the job as Care of Magical Creatures professor as Raye recalled her honeymoon; on their third tries, two patronuses were dashing regally around the room. Raito's had taken the form of a lion, Raye's a horse.

Alex and Kathy eagerly whipped out their wands and started attempting the spell, though Kiseki hung back a bit. Like Austin, Kathy only took 4 tries to get a result: her patronus was an otter. "Ah, the same as my dear friend Hermione. Not surprising, you two have the same brilliant minds," Shiro praised.

Alex was approaching her seventh try, but didn't look to be ready to give up; her efforts began to pay off as a little silver wisp dashed out of her wand. "Good, good! See, you're getting the hang of it, keep at it!" Shiro called. Alex smiled for a moment and continued to endeavor the spell.

Kiseki, though, wasn't having quite a pleasurable time. His voice was getting gradually irritated as he exclaimed "_Expecto Patronum,"_ and frustration masked his face. After trying for the tenth time with no more than a few sparks coming out of his wand, he cried out in dissatisfaction.

"It's alright, love, this takes time," Konata assured him, gingerly rubbing his back in a comforting manner. Kiseki just glared at the ground bitterly. "What memory are you thinking of? That might have to do with it," Konata offered.

Kiseki's anger seemed absent for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, he blushed and murmured, "My first kiss."

Konata's eyes widened. "Your…? Oh, goodness, you never told me you'd kissed anyone… I knew you were- okay, never mind that. First kisses certainly ARE a wonderful memory, yet not exactly perfect for a patronus charm. Yes, basically ALL memories consist of mixed emotions, but something like a first kiss can have a little bit too much nervousness involved with it. So, maybe try another memory?"

Kiseki gave a small nod, searching his mind for a fitting memory. He knew he'd had some very good ones, but the first 9 years of his life all seemed to be a blur; nothing particularly fabulous happened when he was 10; from 11 to almost 13, he'd been expelled from Hogwarts and incredibly miserable. He sucked in his breath a bit as he recalled something that just might work: seeing the relieved faces of his family and few friends for the first time since he'd been released from a mental hospital. It took three more tries, but his "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!" _was finally followed by his sliver of silver-blue light transforming into a male peacock, which opened up its feathers when it settled in front of Kiseki.

"Yes, Kiseki, yes! See, I knew you could do it! Marvelous, simply marvelous!" Shiro praised loudly, striding over and ruffling Kiseki's hair. Kiseki grinned proudly, but he looked away sheepishly and his cheeks turned light pink.

"Hey, Daddy, we haven't seen YOUR patronus yet. Maybe ours will be better, and mine will at least be there, if you show us," Alex offered, pausing before her 15th attempt.

"That's a lovely idea, Allie. Stand back…" Shiro slid his wand out of his pocket and held it at ready. He concentrated hard for a few moments, and then bellowed the charm. Blinding light exploded from his wand, brightening up the entire room. When it dimmed a bit, a majestic cougar stood tall in the middle of the room, and it let out a grand roar that lit up the room once more. As his family stared at it in awe, Shiro whispered, "Bloody Merlin…"

"I don't think it's EVER been that powerful," Konata remarked after finding her voice.

Shiro smiled timidly at her. "Yes, well, I tried out a new memory for once…" He lowered his voice a level. "This time I used the memory of when Alex was born, and we all piled into that hospital room, and we were full as a family for the first time."

"Pff, you're such a cheesy sentimentalist," Raito sighed with a grin.

Shiro rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "It worked, didn't it?"

Alex smiled, raising her wand once more. She zoned in on being sorted into Ravenclaw, and yelled, "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!" _At long last, she got the results she was hoping for: a small bear, presumably a cub, danced around the room, shimmering away after staring into Alex's eyes for a few seconds.

"There we go, we've all got the gist of it now! Let's keep practicing, though, and maybe get in some other sorts of training," called out Shiro.

For the remainder of the day, the Ueda family practiced summoning their patronuses and using other defensive spells, pausing only to relax their muscles, use the bathroom, and eat. The patter of the rain decreased at around 6 PM, halting altogether at about 6:25. They decided they'd done plenty for one day sometime before 7, so Konata left to throw dinner together. Raye didn't hesitate to start writing a letter to send to Scorpius, and Raito helped Shiro restore the furniture to regular size. All of them had nearly forgotten the reason for their training.

"Kiseki…? Where are the others?" Alex asked sleepily the next morning. Kiseki shook his head, his hands flying all over the counter. He looked terrible: his skin was pale, he was horribly clammy, his breathing was uneven, and he was shaking so bad it could almost be considered vibrating. Eyes widening, Alex hurriedly poured a glass of water and dumped two of Kiseki's pills into her palm. She handed them to her brother, and he swallowed them like a starved animal. Alex led him to a chair at the table, stroking his hand with her pinky. As she waited for him to calm down, she stared out the window worriedly. She uttered a gasp as she saw a silvery cougar dash by the house, followed shortly by a horse of the same appearance. They kept coming back, as if they were circling the home…

Kiseki took a deep breath: a sign that he had regained control of himself. He turned in his chair and, before Alex could read his expression, he hugged her tightly. "A war's started, Alexandra. It started this mo-morning. The people have been using this island as a secret base, and they plan on attacking th-the rest of the world… The other residents won't st-stand for that, so the-they're going to war with them before they can… leave… M-Mum and Dad sa-say we don't have to fight yet, but we're d-definitely going to… Right now, them and the others are putting up pro-protective barriers around the house, in case we're attacked… They wanted me to stay inside with you, since you've slept in…"

Alex's eyes widened a ton, and she felt an icy feeling creep up inside her. War? She and her family were going to war? She was shocked speechless. Shaking again, Kiseki leaned down a bit and pressed his lips against Alex's forehead for a few moments. When he backed away, they both got to their feet and headed out the front door, still holding onto one another.

Weather wise, the day was gorgeous. Because of the rain, the temperature was around a comfortable 60 degrees instead of above 75, which it tended to be even with a breeze (which the day currently lacked). There were only a handful of wispy white clouds in the baby-blue sky, as it had been the previous days. The sun shined cheerfully.

The village, however, made Alex and Kiseki feel immediately uneasy. The eccentric houses still stood as they usually did, except some of them had doors that hung ajar and broken windows. The feeling of complete emptiness was disturbing; the atmosphere was a strange, alarming combination of frantic and bare. It made the kids' stomachs churn. The moment Konata, who had been sending a protective beam of light over the house, laid eyes on her two youngest children, she ran over and held them tight. It looked an awful lot like she wanted to cry.

For the remainder of the day, Shiro insisted they go inside and train some more. He tried not to work the kids too hard, but persevered that they could never be too prepared for battle. He himself, however, looked more tired and worn than he had in a long time.

The worst thing was, he rarely let anyone finish talking to him, so he didn't allow anyone to remind him it was his birthday; he'd completely forgot.


	4. Chapter 4

The Ueda kids were shaken awake by a nerve-racked Shiro early the next morning. He looked quite pale in the face as he told each of them that they were to go fight after everyone got dressed and had a very quick breakfast. No one commented as they were led out the door and into the forest.

The farther into the jungle they got, the wider their path became. Alex gripped her mother's shirt tightly as distant screams, crashes, and cold laughter became audible above the soft crackle of plants beneath their feet and the intimidating noises of the forest's creatures. "Mr. Gillis has assigned us to the temple deep within this forest… There are only a few of THEM in there, we should be able to handle it," Shiro whispered. He halted, causing his family to do the same. "We all have to be _completely silent. _Our lives just might depend on it. And I want every one of you to know I love you SO much, and I have faith in you all. We can do this. I KNOW we can do this." The others nodded firmly and, even though they wanted to hug each other tightly, began to walk on.

They slipped unnoticed passed the main battlefield, where the ex-Death Eaters were clashing with the island's residents and some Ministry members. The din of everyone's screams, laughter, and even cries was unbearable. Bodies lie everywhere; some of them bloodless, others incredibly gory. Alex had to bite her lip very hard and turn away. She was almost glad when they made it to the church-like temple; but then she remembered what lay before them.

Shiro slid out his wand, motioning for his family to do the same. He murmured a charm that allowed him to slowly and silently open the grand stone doors. The Uedas stepped inside as soundlessly as possible, and Shiro placed a spell on the doors so that nobody could get in but anyone inside could get out. He did the same to all of the surprisingly intact stain glass windows.

In the next moment, it happened.

Exactly 13 people- 9 wizards and 4 witches- jumped down from the upper pews, coming from all sides. The look in their eyes matched that of a tiger that had been locked in a cage too long and was seeking vengeance on the one who'd caged it up. Spells were shouted out from every angle. Ducking or dodging would have been futile, so instead all of the Uedas called out "_Protego!" _The ex-DE's all shrieked with shock and pain as their spells recoil.

The battle went by surprisingly quickly. Kiskei had shouted "_Expelliarmus!" _every time an enemy in his range of sight raised their wand, and while they scuttled to retrieve it one of the other Uedas- usually Austin or one of the twins- would call out something like the Leg-Locker Curse,_ "Stupefy," _or "_Incarcerous" _then snatch up the disarmed wand. They then broke it in half and used "_Mobilicorpus" _to throw the victim out the door.

It wasn't 10 minutes later that only 8 of the ex-Death Eaters remained. However, every Ueda except for Alex and Raye had sustained some form of wound. "Kiseki, are you alright?" Raito called over his shoulder, ducking to avoid a hot beam of light shot his way.

"I-I can't see right! M-my eyes are stinging!" Kiseki shrieked, backing into a wall with his face in his hands. Grinning maniacally, one of the ex-DE's scrambled to their feet and ran toward him.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!" _Raito and Shiro shouted in unison. Both of their silvery big cats bolted after the man, knocking him to his feet. Raito's chased the abruptly terrified man out the door, while Shiro's decided to rally up two men and a woman that had cornered Kathy.

Only four left.

Those that remained put up much more of a fight. The same could be said about the Uedas, though. Konata had quickly restored Kiseki's vision, but soon afterwards the poor boy received a gash on his arm. Austin, who was covered in small peck wounds from birds that'd been summoned after him, dove to retrieve Kiseki's wand as he dropped it in pain. He gently pressed it back into his precarious palms, leading him toward the rest of their family. All 8 of them nodded at each other and raised their wands. "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!" _they bellowed in unison.

For a very brief moment, you were able to see the assortment of silvery-blue animals that had appeared. After that second passed, however, you probably would have gone blind from the light that exploded throughout the room. The light pulsed throughout the temple, shaking the walls and nearly drowning out the screams of the remaining ex-DE's. When the light faded and the Uedas regained their sight, the ex-Death Eaters were gone.

"_Accio,_" Shiro, Konata, and the twins called. The four wands that had been left behind flew into their hands; they snapped them in half.

"I can't believe it… We've won our portion…" Alex breathed, her knees beginning to wobble.

"I wouldn't count on it, runt."

Alex's heart stopped. She knew that smooth, masculine voice all too well… Quite frankly, she _loved _it.

"Jonah," Kiseki hissed, hatred filling his expression. Sure enough, from the deep shadows of the temple emerged the freckled fifth year Ravenclaw that Alexandra had a crush on.

Jonah smiled casually at Kiseki. "Hey buddy. Come now, don't look at me that way… I know I'm a prefect and you're not, but that's no reason to hate me."

Kiseki's glare intensified; he began shaking a bit. "I hate you because I've always known something's up with you. You disgust me."

Jonah scowled. "Slytherin scum," he spat. Kiseki began to lunge, but the twins held him back. Alex, however, managed to take a step forward.

"Jonah… What are you doing here…?" she asked weakly.

"Oh, just visiting… And helping the Dark Lord, or at least a new one, rise again," he replied plainly as if he was talking about a TV show he'd seen multiple times but never quite enjoyed.

Alex stopped breathing for a moment. She stumbled backwards, shaking her head and moving her mouth wordlessly. "I had a CRUSH on you!" she managed to squeak quietly.

"DID you now?" exclaimed Jonah. Alex's face went crimson and she covered her mouth: he wasn't supposed to hear that. Jonah linked his hands behind his back, staring at the ceiling innocently. "Oh, that's sweet Alexandra, I'm truly flattered. But you see, there's too much risk… You're far too young, and I fear you have some competition, but if you-" In less than a millisecond, Jonah whipped out his wand. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Though Alex's mind worked incredibly fast, it was too slow to register what was going on. Before she could so much as scream, she was blinded by a green light, and hit the ground like a stone. All the Uedas immediately jumped forward with their wands outstretched, except for Konata: she dashed to kneel by Alex's side.

"_EXPELLIARMUS_!" shrieked all the remaining Ueda kids, besides Kiseki, who was too shocked to get his voice to work. The combination of the attacks not only sent Jonah's wand flying about 15 feet in the distance, but knocked him onto his back a good expanse away. He sat upright, rubbing his head, and abruptly began scrambling for his wand. Before he could come close to finding it, however, Shiro stormed over, a fury he'd never before experienced ablaze in his normally calm blue eyes. "_CRUCIO_!" he screamed. Jonah automatically cried out in terror, his body giving a disturbing lurch. Tears streamed down his face as he felt like magma-hot needles were being jabbed at him from every direction.

"I don't care if I go to bloody Azkaban for this, NOBODY lays a damned finger on MY family!" Shiro boomed, twisting his wand this way and that to increase the torture tenfold.

"That's enough, Dad…!" Austin called nervously after about a minute. Most people who'd experienced the Cruciatus Curse had only felt it for less than 30 seconds, and the pain was still so intense it almost drove them to insanity.

Shiro hesitantly yanked his wand back, giving Jonah a final horrible jolt of immense pain before ending the curse. Panting heavily, sweating buckets, and still sobbing silently, Jonah crumpled over sideways. Kiseki went to retrieve Jonah's wand, making sure to spit on him as he passed. Breaking the wand in half wasn't good enough for him. Instead, Kiseki broke it into eighths, tossed it on the ground, and stomped it into dust. Throwing another furious glare at Jonah, he ran to join his family around his only little sister. Recalling what had happened mere moments ago, his feelings of hatred seeped away and feelings of dread and agony bubbled up to replace them.

"Konata, why are you SMILING? Our daughter is dead," Shiro was saying in a choked whisper. Raye had her hand clamped over her mouth and looked on the verge of tears; Raito hugged her to him tightly.

Konata glanced up at her family and, sure enough, she was smiling, dry tears leaving splotches on her cheeks. "Not dead, love… Just a bloody good actress." At these words, Alex's eyes opened, and she sat upright. Immediately, her siblings dove to give her hugs.

"HOW did you do it? Nobody can live through that curse, except for Harry Potter!" Kathy breathed, staring at her little sister like she was a gift from the gods.

"You see, it didn't hit me. It…" Alex got on hands and knees and crawled around the floor. "Ah! Here we go." She picked something up with her pointer finger and thumb, and when looking closely, the others saw it was a fly. "This little guy happened to buzz by at the EXACT moment Jonah used the curse… It hit the fly, not me. I just pretended to die so he wouldn't try again and ACTUALLY kill me," she explained.

"That's my girl," Shiro whispered, kissing her head and helping her to her feet. Some of the others opened their mouths to speak, but Shiro held up one finger to silence them. "Wait, you hear that? Quietness. Merlin, I think we've won." He walked toward the gray doors, motioning for his family to follow after him. They did so, holding their breaths in anticipation of what they might see. As they Shiro and Raito heaved the doors open, and sunlight seeped into the temple.

Outside, it was quite evident a miniature war had taken place. Plants were burnt, ripped up, or damaged in some other way; people were nursing others' wounds; broken wands were scattered every few feet; some blood stained the ground; the atmosphere was heavy. Still, the Uedas' hearts felt light: the ex-Death Eaters had lost. It was all going to be okay.

The next day was quiet. Shiro and Konata had a feeling that not all of the "bad guys" had been defeated, and made the children hang low inside the house. The kids couldn't really complain: they were still sore from fighting.

"Hey, Allie, I'm uh… Sorry about your crush," Kiseki said that evening. All day, he'd been glancing at his little sister and telling himself, "You're going to express your sympathy," but it took a long while for him to consent.

Alex, who was sitting cross-legged in an armchair with one hand stroking Butterscotch and the other supporting a rather lengthy book, looked up at him. She felt her heart give a shudder: she'd removed Jonah from her mind ever since the previous day. "That's quite alright…" she said after a moment. "He was a terrible person. I'M sorry I ever crushed on him, I know how much you disliked him."

Kiseki shook his head in alarm. "No, no, don't YOU be sor-"

"Someone's at the door," Alex interrupted, shifting her rabbit into her arms and dashing to the front door. She opened it hesitantly, but smiled brightly at the visitor. "Mr. Gillis! Hi! I'll go get my dad," she exclaimed.

"Very well, thank you dear." Mr. Gillis looked quite different from the man he was on day 1 of the vacation. His youthful vibe was dimmed, as if someone had put a lid on it. He looked awfully tired, and was supporting himself with a wooden crutch.

"Oy, please come in, Mr. Gillis!" Shiro called as he joined them in the room, his face beaming.

Mr. Gillis waved the hand that wasn't holding his crutch. "Oh, no, I just have a few things to say. First off… I'd like to thank you immensely for helping us fight, the world owes you and your family for your bravery. Second, I'm glad to say that all the surviving Death Eaters- no point in saying the ex, if you ask me- have been shipped off to Azkaban. They won't be seen again for a LONG time. Not to mention YOU'RE already clear for using a Forbidden Curse. Don't worry about getting in trouble for it."

"Why, that's fantastic! I… I really don't know what else to say," Shiro breathed.

Mr. Gillis clapped him on the back his spare hand. "No sense in trying to think of something, then, hm? Well, enjoy the last few days of your vacation. I can assure you they won't be disturbed. Oh, and one more thing: the townsfolk are throwing a party tomorrow night. Why don't you all come down?"

"Alright, I think I'm ready… What do you think, Scorpy? Too casual? Not casual enough?" questioned Raye the next night. Shiro and Konata had decided to allow their kids to invite one friend each to come to the party with them and spend the night. Alex's and Kiseki's friends came by Floo Powder (there was a fireplace in Mr. Gillis's house); the others were all capable of Apparating.

"Don't worry, you look just fine," Scorpius Malfoy assured his wife with a peck on her cheek. He put his arm around her shoulders and went downstairs to join the others. Raito had brought Presilla Parkinson: the black haired, gray eyed niece of Pansy Parkinson. She had been Raito's girlfriend for 4 years, though he'd been pursuing her since they were 11 (he didn't care that she was a Slytherin, he thought she was gorgeous). Presilla hated almost everyone that wasn't part of the Ueda family. You couldn't really blame her, though: her parents were dead, she'd been raised by Pansy, and the only "friends" she'd had throughout her years in Hogwarts rarely even looked at her.

Austin's date was Radha, whom you've already been generally introduced to (Ravenclaw, Padma Patil's daughter, same age as her best friend Kathy… Ringing a bell?). She looked an awful lot like her mother had when at Hogwarts. Kathy brought James, which upset Shiro a lot, since everyone would be sharing a bed with their guest. ("James, I AM fond of you, please don't get me wrong, but I don't like the idea of you," he gulped, "sleeping with my daughter…")

Kiseki had brought one of his only friends, a thin, black-haired Hufflepuff named Drew. He had been adopted by Gregory Goyle, but when he was sorted into Hufflepuff, he disowned him. Drew lived in an orphans' home currently, but was still one of the cheeriest people you could meet. Oh, and Drew is Kiseki's… partner. Yes, Kiseki is gay (the only girl outside his family that he'd ever liked was Rose Weasley, who used to have a crush on him but soon gave up).

Alex was the only one who hadn't brought someone she was dating. She'd brought her best friend, Jenna: a brown-haired Gryffindor and the only child of Lavender Brown and her husband. She looked almost identical to her mother, but was much kinder and less obnoxious than she'd been.

The party, which was held in the town square, was a blast. There was lots of energetic music and exotic foods, plus some impressive magic shows. A man had even brought a dragon onstage and "tamed" it. Raito and Austin grabbed each other's arms, wordless in excitement, as they realized it was the dragon that'd chased them.

Upon Konata's request, Mr. Gillis snapped a group photo of them all. The couples all stood with at least one arm around the other; Scorpius and Raito even lifted their girls into the air, Scorpius holding Raye bridal-style. Kiseki failingly tried to calm his blushing as Drew embraced him, and Kathy jokingly scolded James for only half looking at the camera (his pose involved putting one arm around Kathy's shoulders and kissing her head, one eye open and glancing in the direction of Mr. Gillis).

The Uedas danced, sang, ate, and in Raito's case, made out with their date, until the party came to a close 3 hours after it had began. They reluctantly climbed back to their house, breathless, laughing uncontrollably, the booming music still ringing in their ears.

"Did everyone have a good time?" Shiro asked in what normally would have been a shout, but came out at normal volume. Everyone either nodded, gave double thumbs-up, or punched their fist into the air. "Good, I'm glad. Not too late now, all of you."

"Jen, you can get dressed in the room, I'm going to go say good-night to everyone," Alex indicated as they decided it was bedtime, at about 9:30. Jenna nodded and disappeared into their room.

Alex knocked on her parents' door across the hall from her. Without giving it a second thought, she opened he door, but immediately regretted it: her parents had been laughing softly, while sitting in their PJs on the bed, and the moment Alex walked in, they kissed. Noticing her presence, they spun away from each other, a classic look of flustered embarrassment crossing their faces.

"I-I'm sorry guys, I didn't think…" Alex said quickly.

Shiro smiled good-naturedly. "Oh, no harm done. 'Night, Allie." "I love you bunches," Konata and Shiro said in unison. Konata kissed her fingers and held them toward her youngest daughter.

Alex grinned sheepishly and nodded, also kissing two fingers and holding out her hand. "I love you too. 'Night." She slipped out backwards and closed the door in front of her. Before she even opened Raito's door, she knew she should just move on: she could hear Presilla moaning gently, and Raito murmuring, "I'm sorry you gotta wear your bra 'n undies, and I gotta wear my boxers, but y'know…"

"Don't apologize, baby, I get it. I'm just glad to be with you…" responded Presilla in a purr of a tone. Alex shuddered and walked away as it became Raito's turn to moan. She hesitated before knocking on Raye's door.

"You can open it," Raye called.

Alex did so, but barely more than a crack. "Good-night, Raye. Good-night, Scorpius."

Fortunately, both Raye and Scorpius were fully clothed in their pajamas, and looked like they were just sliding in to fall asleep. They smiled warmly at Alexandra. "'Night Alex," they retorted. She proceeded to Kiseki's room, where she bid good-night to her brother and Drew but witnessed them share an amorous kiss before closing the door all the way. Kathy and James were standing out on the balcony, but still turned and politely told Alex good-night. Radha looked to be asleep, though Austin returned Alex's "good-night" with a wink.

The next day, the Uedas all went to the beach with their company. As Drew and Kiseki splashed up and down in the shallow ends of the water, Kiseki ended up tripping but Drew caught him by the waist. He then proceeded to give him a kiss on the nose, which made Kiseki's cheeks turn crimson. Scorpius and Raito laughed as Raye squealed quietly (she'd been a yaoi fan girl since she was 10). That night they had a bonfire, where they roasted hot dogs, made s'mores, told stories, goofed around, and just plain had a good time. Soon after, they bid farewell to their guests and went up to bed.

All the Uedas slept in that morning. After everyone was awake, Konata whipped up the largest breakfast she'd made all week, and her family seemed to savor every bite. Once their plates were cleaned up, they went back upstairs to pack. When they were ready, they piled out onto the porch.

"Oy, there's Dad!" Austin called after waiting under the umbrella at the picnic table for a good 15 minutes. Shiro came back looking completely dazed.

"How much did it come out to?" Konata questioned, digging through her bag and pulling out Raito's rat.

"Mr. Gillis changed his mind… He only charged me 20 bucks," Shiro whispered.

Konata almost dropped Chester onto the porch instead of Raito's outstretched hand. "20…? Blimey, that man is TOO kind!"

Shiro smiled softly, looking more awake. "He said it was because of the 'services we provided to the island' and, well… He says I remind him so much as his son who died in a horrible when he was only 9. He said that he loves me as if I'm part of his family… And, well, he said that there's a 100% family discount, and then he gave me a wink."

The kids all had the same reactions as when they first were told they'd be going on the vacation. "So we… can come back any time?" Kathy asked quietly.

Shiro grinned. "Well, not ANY time, but yes, we're always welcome back. Now then! To the portkey!"

Alex took a last glimpse of the house, then to her family. She thought about how she had been face to face with death; about how they had helped take part in preventing a breakout of dark witches and wizards; about the little adventures they'd had on this island; about what her family really meant to her. Imagining coming home with Tippy eagerly waving them inside, she smiled to herself. Did all of her family live in the same house as her? No. Were they always with her?

Absolutely.


End file.
